Brian Duensing
Encyclopedia
Brian Matthew Duensing (born February 22, 1983 in Marysville, Kansas
) is a major league baseball
starting pitcher
for the Minnesota Twins
.
in Omaha, Nebraska
, where he earned second-team all-state honors in both his junior and senior years. His senior year he batted
.429, and went 2-2 with a 3.78 earned run average
on the mound. His combined record in two seasons of American Legion
ball was 16-3 with 141 strikeouts. He had a 0.74 ERA, and a .522 batting average
his second season.
pitcher Joba Chamberlain
and Kansas City Royals
third baseman Alex Gordon
at the University of Nebraska.
In as a freshman, Duensing went 6-2 with a 4.73 ERA and 60 strikeouts (versus 25 walks) in 78 innings over 18 appearances (12 starts). He replaced Shane Komine
in the starting rotation in Big 12 play while Komine was injured. He won 6 games in a row before losing to Richmond in the Super Regional. He helped the Huskers reach the 2002 College World Series
throwing 11.2 consecutive scoreless innings in the NCAA Regional and Super Regional until allowing three runs in the 9th. He was an honorable-mention freshman all-American and was on the Big 12 all-freshman team.
His season was cut short by of an elbow injury that required surgery. He had gone 3-0 over four starts with a 2.42 ERA and 24 strikeouts versus six walks. After sitting out as a medical redshirt having Tommy John surgery
, Duensing had a breakout season going 8-0 in with a 2.60 ERA in 21 appearances. He threw 15 consecutive shutout innings in the Big 12 Baseball Tournament
and helped the Huskers reach the 2005 College World Series
50 miles away.
in the 3rd round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft
. After he was drafted, he played for the rookie team Elizabethton Twins
, going 4-3 with a 2.32 ERA and striking out 55. In , he went 5-10 in 28 games with a 3.49 ERA with 3 teams, the AA New Britain Rock Cats
, A Fort Myers Miracle
and A Beloit Snappers
. In 2007, he played part of the season with the Rock Cats going 4-1. He was then promoted to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings
, where he went 11-5 with 3 complete games, 3.24 ERA and 86 srikeouts for the rest of the season.
to give fans personal insight to the games from a player's perspective.
In his only appearance, on August 16, Duensing pitched 3.1 scoreless innings
in relief to earn the win for team USA against Canada
. He gave up only one hit while striking out three.
debut on April 10, giving up a two run home run to Carlos Quentin
for his only earned runs in three innings pitched in the Twins' 12-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox
. He was returned to Rochester on the 14th when Baker returned from the disabled list
. While he was back in triple-A he went 4-6 with a 4.66 ERA in 13 starts at Rochester. The Twins recalled Duensing up on July 2, sending down Sean Henn to Rochester. The next day he made his second appearance of the season, relieving 3 2/3 innings, allowing one run on one hit while walking one and striking out two against the Detroit Tigers
. On July 29, Duensing made his first major league start, against the Chicago White Sox
, filling in for Francisco Liriano
, who was scratched with inflammation in his left forearm. He went 5 innings, giving up 2 runs, which were both home runs, on 3 hits in a no decision. Duensing got his first major league win on August 22 against the Kansas City Royals
. He won his following start going a career best 7 innings striking out 8 batters. Duensing started for the Twins in Game 1 of the 2009 ALDS against C.C. Sabathia
and the New York Yankees
.
. Blackburn was sent to the bullpen. On August 14, 2010, Duensing pitched his first career shutout vs. Trevor Cahill
and the Oakland Athletics
. After the Twins clinched the division title on September 20, 2010, Duensing was announced the third starter in the Twins' postseason rotation. Duensing had an impressive 2010 season, pitching to a record of 10-3 with a 2.62 ERA. He was given the third starting spot in the Twins' playoff rotation, but pitched poorly, going just 3.1 innings while giving up 5 runs.
, Duensing's pitching did not live up to the potential that he had shown in the later parts of 2010. He missed some starts with oblique strain, and ended the year with a 9-14 record and a 5.23 ERA.
Marysville, Kansas
Marysville is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,294.-History:...
) is a major league baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
starting pitcher
Starting pitcher
In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....
for the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
.
High school
Duensing went to Millard South High SchoolMillard South High School
On January 5, 2011, Robert Butler Jr., a senior at Millard South, was suspended for trespassing on school grounds after an incident in which he drove his car onto the school's football field on New Year's Day. The suspension was carried out by Assistant Principal Dr. Vicki Kaspar and resulted in...
in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, where he earned second-team all-state honors in both his junior and senior years. His senior year he batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.429, and went 2-2 with a 3.78 earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
on the mound. His combined record in two seasons of American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
ball was 16-3 with 141 strikeouts. He had a 0.74 ERA, and a .522 batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
his second season.
University of Nebraska
Duensing was a college teammate of New York YankeesNew York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
pitcher Joba Chamberlain
Joba Chamberlain
Justin Louis "Joba" Chamberlain is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees.-Early life:Chamberlain was born and grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chamberlain's parents, Harlan Chamberlain and Jackie Standley, were never married and split up when Joba was 18 months old...
and Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
third baseman Alex Gordon
Alex Gordon
Alex Jonathan Gordon is a Major League Baseball Outfielder for the Kansas City Royals.-Early years:...
at the University of Nebraska.
| Year | ERA | W | L | G | IP | ER | BB | K |
| 2002 | 4.73 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 78.0 | 41 | 25 | 60 |
| 2003 | 2.42 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 22.1 | 6 | 6 | 24 |
| 2005 | 3.00 | 8 | 0 | 23 | 84.0 | 28 | 28 | 52 |
| Total | 3.66 | 17 | 2 | 45 | 184.1 | 75 | 59 | 136 |
In as a freshman, Duensing went 6-2 with a 4.73 ERA and 60 strikeouts (versus 25 walks) in 78 innings over 18 appearances (12 starts). He replaced Shane Komine
Shane Komine
Shane Kenji Komine is a former right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher. He made his major league debut against the Toronto Blue Jays on July 30,...
in the starting rotation in Big 12 play while Komine was injured. He won 6 games in a row before losing to Richmond in the Super Regional. He helped the Huskers reach the 2002 College World Series
2002 College World Series
The 2002 College World Series was held June 14 through June 22, 2002 in Omaha, Nebraska. Eight NCAA Division I college baseball teams met after having played their way through a 64-team bracket to play at historic Rosenblatt Stadium...
throwing 11.2 consecutive scoreless innings in the NCAA Regional and Super Regional until allowing three runs in the 9th. He was an honorable-mention freshman all-American and was on the Big 12 all-freshman team.
His season was cut short by of an elbow injury that required surgery. He had gone 3-0 over four starts with a 2.42 ERA and 24 strikeouts versus six walks. After sitting out as a medical redshirt having Tommy John surgery
Tommy John surgery
Tommy John surgery, known in medical practice as ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, is a surgical procedure in which a ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with a tendon from elsewhere in the body...
, Duensing had a breakout season going 8-0 in with a 2.60 ERA in 21 appearances. He threw 15 consecutive shutout innings in the Big 12 Baseball Tournament
Big 12 Baseball Tournament
The Big 12 Baseball Tournament is the conference championship tournament in baseball for the Big 12 Conference . It is a two-group round robin tournament with the winners of each group facing each other in a one-game match for the championship...
and helped the Huskers reach the 2005 College World Series
2005 College World Series
The 2005 College World Series was held June 17 through 27, 2005 in Omaha, Nebraska. Eight NCAA Division I college baseball teams met after having played their way through a 64-team bracket to play at historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. It was won by Texas, which defeated Florida in the championship...
50 miles away.
Minor League
Duensing was drafted by the Minnesota TwinsMinnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
in the 3rd round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft
2005 Major League Baseball Draft
The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams...
. After he was drafted, he played for the rookie team Elizabethton Twins
Elizabethton Twins
The Elizabethton Twins are a minor league baseball team in Elizabethton, Tennessee, USA. They are a Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League, and have been a farm team of the Minnesota Twins since 1974. The Twins play home games at Joe O'Brien Field...
, going 4-3 with a 2.32 ERA and striking out 55. In , he went 5-10 in 28 games with a 3.49 ERA with 3 teams, the AA New Britain Rock Cats
New Britain Rock Cats
The New Britain Rock Cats are the Double-A minor league baseball affiliate of the Minnesota Twins Major League Baseball club. They compete in the Eastern League and play their home games at New Britain Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut.-History:...
, A Fort Myers Miracle
Fort Myers Miracle
The Fort Myers Miracle is the Class A Advanced minor league baseball affiliate of the Minnesota Twins Major League Baseball club, currently managed by Jake Mauer. Home games are played at the Lee County Sports Complex in Hammond Stadium, which has a capacity of 7,500, and opened in...
and A Beloit Snappers
Beloit Snappers
The Beloit Snappers are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Minnesota Twins, that plays in the Midwest League.Beloit joined the Midwest League as an expansion franchise in 1982. They were a Milwaukee Brewers farm team from its beginning through 2004; they switched to the...
. In 2007, he played part of the season with the Rock Cats going 4-1. He was then promoted to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings
Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major-league club. The Red Wings play in Frontier Field, located in downtown Rochester.The Red Wings were an...
, where he went 11-5 with 3 complete games, 3.24 ERA and 86 srikeouts for the rest of the season.
USA Baseball Olympic Team
Duensing was 5-11 with a 4.32 ERA and 76 strike outs in 23 starts with the Red Wings in before ending his season in order to represent the United States at the 2008 Olympics. He posted Brian's Baseball Blog from BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
to give fans personal insight to the games from a player's perspective.
In his only appearance, on August 16, Duensing pitched 3.1 scoreless innings
Innings
An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...
in relief to earn the win for team USA against Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He gave up only one hit while striking out three.
2009
An injury to Twins pitcher Scott Baker opened a spot for Duensing on the Twins' opening day roster. He made his major leagueMajor League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
debut on April 10, giving up a two run home run to Carlos Quentin
Carlos Quentin
Carlos Josè Quentin is an American outfielder who plays for the Chicago White Sox. In 2008 and in 2011, Quentin was selected as an All-Star.-Early career:...
for his only earned runs in three innings pitched in the Twins' 12-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
. He was returned to Rochester on the 14th when Baker returned from the disabled list
Disabled list
In Major League Baseball, the disabled list is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players.-General guidelines:...
. While he was back in triple-A he went 4-6 with a 4.66 ERA in 13 starts at Rochester. The Twins recalled Duensing up on July 2, sending down Sean Henn to Rochester. The next day he made his second appearance of the season, relieving 3 2/3 innings, allowing one run on one hit while walking one and striking out two against the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
. On July 29, Duensing made his first major league start, against the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
, filling in for Francisco Liriano
Francisco Liriano
Francisco Liriano y Casillas is a left-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Minnesota Twins.-Professional career:...
, who was scratched with inflammation in his left forearm. He went 5 innings, giving up 2 runs, which were both home runs, on 3 hits in a no decision. Duensing got his first major league win on August 22 against the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
. He won his following start going a career best 7 innings striking out 8 batters. Duensing started for the Twins in Game 1 of the 2009 ALDS against C.C. Sabathia
C.C. Sabathia
Carsten Charles "CC" Sabathia is an American professional baseball pitcher with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball...
and the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
.
2010
On July 21, 2010, Duensing was inserted into the starting rotation in place of Nick BlackburnNick Blackburn
Robert Nicholas Blackburn is a Major League Baseball pitcher in the Minnesota Twins system. He graduated from Del City High School in Del City, Oklahoma. He attended Seminole State College. The 6-4, 227 pound right-hander was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 34th round of the...
. Blackburn was sent to the bullpen. On August 14, 2010, Duensing pitched his first career shutout vs. Trevor Cahill
Trevor Cahill
Trevor John Cahill is a right-handed pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball.-Career:...
and the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
. After the Twins clinched the division title on September 20, 2010, Duensing was announced the third starter in the Twins' postseason rotation. Duensing had an impressive 2010 season, pitching to a record of 10-3 with a 2.62 ERA. He was given the third starting spot in the Twins' playoff rotation, but pitched poorly, going just 3.1 innings while giving up 5 runs.
2011
Duensing was given the third spot in the starting rotation for the 2011 season. While his season did have some bright moments, including his July shutout against the Tampa Bay RaysTampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
, Duensing's pitching did not live up to the potential that he had shown in the later parts of 2010. He missed some starts with oblique strain, and ended the year with a 9-14 record and a 5.23 ERA.